


Leap of Faith

by nightfist



Category: Faith Herbert - Fandom, ReinXeed (Band), Sabaton (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Superheroes, metal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27844654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfist/pseuds/nightfist
Summary: Gravity-defying superheroine Faith Herbert travels to a metal festival to get an idea for her next blog entry, but is soon needed for an act of heroism, followed with getting to know one of the Sabaton guitarists. Happens after "Saboteurs of Blashyrkh."
Relationships: Faith Herbert & Tommy Johansson
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

When she had free time from being a superheroine, Faith liked to seek out new experiences. Or she practically had to, so that she would have something to write about. Well, at least she liked travelling for real.

This time her travels had taken her to somewhere unusual for herself, a metal festival in Europe. 

There were many stages, and the whole festival area was packed with the crowd and their tents and RVs. Faith thought the atmosphere was very relaxed, up to the point that she could almost let herself off guard and forget the powers she had. Certainly more so than she could ever do back home.

The sun was shining mercilessly, and the band now playing the main stage was called Sabaton. Though Faith was far from an expert on heavy metal, it was easy to note that they were creating a definitely militant feel with their music. This was heightened by all of the band wearing camo, and the drum riser being an actual piece of artillery, and – as a quick search on her phone revealed – practically all of their songs being about historical battles.

Faith put the phone away; then she happened to take especial notice of the guitarist on the right side of the stage, or to her left. It took her a second or two to realize exactly why, and she smiled to herself.

She thought the guy reminded her a bit of herself, being not exactly light-built and having a great mop of blond hair almost down to his waist.

There were little pockets of empty space here and there in the crowd, so Faith managed to slowly push herself closer to the stage.

The singer announced another song, with a bit of a tasteless joke.

”Well, this is an old one but you'd go home disappointed if I didn't say it, so here goes: this one's about sex, it's about my penis! The Rise of Evil!”

A slower rhythm with just the bass guitar and drums at first started.

When the guitars joined, the artillery gun belched out a great flame and a cloud of smoke. The sound system and the whole stage shook subsonically. It was just sound combined with a pyrotechnical effect, but for some reason it put Faith on the edge, as if it was actual danger she was facing again.

She scanned everywhere around her, out of routine and instinct. Finally, she fixated on the stage in front of her.

Above, she thought one of the heavy sets of lights suspended from the overhead steel beams was shaking … a little?

The singer began his lyrics, and still acting on instinct, Faith pushed herself even more to the front.

When the song came to what Faith thought was the chorus, the gun belched again. Another subsonic rumble.

Then it felt like time slowed down for her. The set of lights was coming loose for real, directly above the right-side guitarist. Someone next to Faith had noticed this too and shrieked in terror.

Faith knew she had to act.

She jumped upward and forward, utilizing her force field power to gently push the crowd out of the way. It was like a form of enhanced crowdsurfing.

The lights were in accelerating freefall now, with only a second or two to fall on top of the guitarist with likely fatal results.

Faith reached the top of the security fence. The nearest security guard in his yellow vest was too dumbfounded to realize what was happening – to an outsider she was almost just like a blur.

There was no time for finesse, so Faith leaped yet onward, crashing into the blond-haired guitarist and pushing them both out of the way just as the heavy overhead lights fell onto the stage with a huge steely racket.

Faith also felt a sudden, twisting pain in her right ankle as that was the extremity that had not gotten out of the way in time.

Quickly, she applied her field to the heavy metal casing of the light that was pinning her foot down. It rose just enough for her to get free, and she rolled over right next to the guitarist she had saved. 

But the pain did not stop. Her ankle was possibly broken.

By now the band had stopped playing.

”If it wasn't for your… stage invasion, that'd have been my last note. Thanks… for saving my life,” the guitarist breathed. ”But did you hurt yourself?”

Faith thought she had to stay very focused to not reveal herself. Hopefully everyone had been too preoccupied with either the music, or the sudden horror of seeing the lights fall, to have paid attention to her gravity-defying leap to the fence and then on to the stage. Maybe, just maybe, it would be credible that she had managed to have been exactly in the right spot to act. And maybe hurting her own ankle would make her look a little less like an actual superheroine.

Up close the guitarist looked rather friendly and genuinely thankful. Surely someone else might have been just pissed off that the show was over, and that a lowly audience member had managed to save their life, when they should have been paying better attention.

”I guess I did, my ankle. And you're welcome,” Faith answered.

”Then we'll have to get you treated. The artist emergency service is just behind the stage.”

By now the other band members plus the roadies were headed their way too. Faith guessed that it would take at least two to move her without undue effort, and without her using the force field to make herself lighter.

”I'm very much fine – so I'll take you before Joakim or the rest try to take credit. You know Final Fantasy 8?” the guitarist went on.

A videogame? But Faith didn't exactly remember which was which.

”That's the one with the legendary long piggyback ride. Come on!”

Oh shit. That didn't sound like a good idea. Faith guessed the guitarist just wanted to be the hero in turn. But he looked at her with such earnestness, that it was just hard to resist. 

Faith thought that she could use her force just a little, if they would be in risk of tipping over, or if she was just too hard to transport. And so, while the guitarist squatted, Faith wrapped her arms and legs around him from behind. This required her to take one more step, and the pain definitely flared up more.

”Tommy! What the fuck are you doing?” the singer shouted from next to them.

Tommy. That was good to know. Maybe Faith could reveal her name too at some point.

Tommy stood up, or attempted to, and Faith knew she had to apply the force field now. Then they were on their way, heading to a short flight of stairs down from the back of the stage.

”I think something's off,” Tommy spoke. ”But not in a bad way. I'm just afraid this is a dream and I wake up soon. Or wake up dead.”

He sounded a little dreamy, but Faith was just frightened. She had possibly gone too far with the field? Well, the rescue itself had already been too far. Tommy looked like a bright guy, so he would realize when impossibilities were happening right around him.

”I mean, you're Supergirl or something? You could fly into me from the crowd, and I'm quite sure… now you're being lighter than you should.”

Not exactly Supergirl, but still guilty as charged. Well, if Tommy could keep a secret, then it wouldn't be as bad… 

They took a turn and Faith could see the large red cross indicating first aid services, and at least two attendants standing by.

”We're here. I'll hand you over. It was a pleasure...”

”Name's Faith,” Faith managed to respond as she dropped down from Tommy's back onto the waiting stretcher.


	2. Chapter 2

If the festival nurse was right, then Faith had just a bad sprain injury, nothing actually broken. She thought that maybe she had applied a bit of the force by instinct, which had shielded the bone. Now she would have to take it easy for a few days. Instead of crutches, she could even use her force field to lighten the load when walking, at the risk of it looking just a little abnormal to anyone looking on.

”If this is still a dream, it's a long and coherent one. But our show is definitely over,” Tommy said to her as he returned from the stage. ”They need to inspect all the lights to be sure there are no more surprises. With luck the day's last bands still get to play.”

”I'm sorry it went like that,” Faith replied.

”Well, maybe someone of the rigging crew was drinking too much. But there's always another show, as long as you're alive. Which reminds me, thank you, once more. How are you doing? What did the nurses say?”

”Shouldn't be anything broken. I just need to avoid straining it more for a while.”

Tommy sat down to the chair next to her.

”There's going to be boring stuff, that I don't want to take part in. A news crew will surely want to interview us of the accident. But Joakim and the rest can handle it. How about we disappear? I'd be very, very interested to hear your official explanation of what you just did.”

Faith bit her lip. This wasn't necessarily going to be an easy or pleasant experience. She wasn't supposed to reveal her true nature frivolously, as it was also world of real danger and real villains – sometimes possessing powers of their own – she inhabited.

Tommy appeared easy-going and charming even, but how much could she trust him for real? Would it even be safe to go with him?

”What do you mean, disappear?”

”Well, we have no more shows for a week. I'd be glad to keep you company while you recover. And help you out if you need anything. It's the least I can do.”

Assuming Tommy didn't have anything pervy in mind, it could be the best course of action now that Faith thought of it. If her stunt had raised attention, her enemies could also be interested. And if she wasn't at full capacity – they could be looking for an opportunity. It could get ugly and not just for her if they for example tracked her down to the hostel she was staying at.

”On the condition, that we stay as anonymous as possible. I'm not exactly safe to be around,” Faith explained.

Tommy's eyes lit up. ”Oohh. I think I get the picture. It's an adventure I'm getting into. I'd be a fool to not sign up.”

He paused for a moment.

”And it's not often you see heroines as pretty as you on the big screen.”

Faith smiled almost involuntarily. Tommy seemed to mean it for real. She thought back to what she had originally thought – that Tommy was a bit like a male counterpart to her. His round features made him look just a little like a big child, and there was a boyish sense of wonder in how he interacted – with her at least.

”So if you say yes, I'm going to rent a car, say goodbye to the guys and then we're on our way. And we can get disguises if you like. Yes, it's an adventure.”

Faith saw the band's singer approaching them once more.

”I heard that! I think Tommy's in love. But can't fault him, with the show over we have nothing to do, except to get wasted.”

Tommy turned to Faith.

”Don't mind Joakim. He's a bit of an ass at times.”

\---

An hour later, they were on their way, cruising along the freeway in an inconspicuous rented grey VW Passat. Both wore sunglasses now, and Tommy had a hat almost resembling a pirate.

Once she got started, Faith had started telling perhaps far too much. Of her powers, how she came to possess them… But Tommy had promised to keep silent.

”You know, I'm actually not a complete stranger to strange things happening, even before I met you. I was not there when it happened, but the guys tell me they were making a music video in Norway, and they met the guys of Immortal. Abbath and Demonaz. And those had stumbled on something that sounded a lot like modern day Nazis, trying to restart the Telemark heavy water plant. Then there was an avalanche which buried everything. Though I'm not exactly going to bet my life on that story being true,” Tommy explained as he drove.

This was not anything out of the ordinary for Faith. She could buy the story. There were always people trying to resurrect evil, that she knew.

\---

Finally they had settled down at a small hotel, using false names. Faith used the force field to walk; it was easy enough when no-one was looking intently, as was the case now with the hotel being almost empty.

They sat in the hotel's cozily lit restaurant now; Faith had told of her blog-writing habit.

”Isn't that something your enemies could use against you?” Tommy asked.

”Well, it's true that I have to be careful what I write about. But it's almost like a form of mental warfare. I try to spread positive thoughts that way too.”

The guitarist's gaze turned thoughtful, and Faith went on.

”I understood your singer has the most creative control in your band. So are you like a… guitarist for hire for the most part? Are you happy that way?”

Now Tommy didn't stay thoughtful for long.

”Well… I also have my own project. It's called ReinXeed. I write the music and lyrics and sing. I also started from that idea, trying to spread positivity. Though I didn't always succeed… sometimes it's like I try to summon it though it's not actually there. If you want to catch me at my worst, google the lyrics to my song Guitar Hero. Well, can't take that back any more.”

Faith did as told and submerged to her phone for a while. She understood, as the song seemed to be a putdown of people who liked to play the game instead of learning a real instrument. Coming from an established musician, it seemed a little… unfair.

”But I think, meeting you charged me with actual positive energy for some time to come. And that'll be needed if I'm going to restart my solo project.”

Faith knew there was a wistful undercurrent to this statement. As soon as she had recovered, they'd go their separate ways. Their worlds were too different for anything else. Anything else would be very irresponsible from Faith's part, placing the guitarist in potential danger.

But there was still the rest of this short ”holiday” to look forward.

\---

Back in the hotel room.

”You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the couch,” Tommy said. Of course he was going to be a gentleman.

”But I'm a little intrigued, what exactly can you do with that force field of yours?”

Faith sat on the edge of the bed.

”Well, when I saved you, I wouldn't have needed to actually crash into you. I could just have done...”

She applied just a little bit of the force field, and Tommy was gently plucked off his feet. Just as gently, Faith then guided him to sit in her lap.

”...this.”

Faith understood she had likely gone too far. Tommy smiled widely as he looked up in her eyes.

”Faith… that's some magic. And I guess you could walk or run or hell, even fly while holding me like that, like I weighed exactly zero kilos?”

”Well, if my foot was good, then yes. Right now it's better I just sit.”

Tommy still didn't stop smiling.

”You know, if you weren't living in a world of danger that's fatal to mortals like me, I would sure as hell ask you to marry me. I know that's a bit… direct. Or fast. But I don't think I'm ever going to meet anyone else like you.”

Faith had to close her eyes. Definitely too far. She shouldn't have done that pull maneuver, when there was nowhere for them to go from there.

”I'm sorry,” she began.

”No, don't apologize. It's all good fun. Like me doing the Squall carry to you. I know the reality.”

Reality, indeed. Suddenly Faith felt like crying, and Tommy seemed to notice it, as he left her lap and shifted around to wrap her in his large arms instead.

Faith allowed herself to shed a few tears. It wasn't as bad when Tommy was right there. It was comforting to stay there in his protective embrace, even if he could never protect her from the actual dangers she would face in her line of duty.

Finally Faith thought she could speak coherently.

”You know, I'd wish too that it wasn't just good fun. I don't bump into a guy like you each day either.”

\---

Somehow Faith had managed to fall asleep at last. Judging from the amount of light, it was morning now when she woke up.

When she tried to roll around, something stopped her. Then she noticed the reason. Her left foot had been tied with a shoelace to the bedpost.

”Tommy? What is this?” she exclaimed.

Tommy raised his head over the sofa's armrest.

”I woke up in the middle of the night, and you were floating there above the bed! I was scared you would float away... Sorry if that was unnecessary!”

Faith knew that sometimes she would activate the force field in her sleep. But she never got out of control. Nevertheless, it was hard to not break down laughing. That was cute of Tommy to be worrying like that.

It was also definitely sad to think of… when it would soon be over, and there would be no more craziness like that.


	3. Chapter 3

Back home.

Faith couldn't deny that her laptop and headphones had seen a lot of use just for listening through all of ReinXeed's back catalogue, several times.

The band had one album which recounted the Titanic tragedy… and another was based on various movies. The same sense of wonder that Faith had sensed while conversing with Tommy continued in the music. As well as in his voice, which seemed both deep and soulful, yet capable of soaring into almost unnatural heights whenever needed.

The sense of a magic journey, or a magic flight in his music kept reminding Faith a lot of what her life had been like. How far apart they were, after all, if Tommy could describe it so well without even having met her before?

Well, they still were. It was like the difference between writing and directing an action movie, and actually living it as your reality.

There had been some time with no new blog posts from her. Maybe now was finally time to bite the bullet and start writing it.

Faith just knew that she was going to write about meeting him. Disguised just enough, but trying to convey the sense of when you met someone so beautiful from the inside, yet you knew you would be forced to stay apart for the good of both of you.

She had also done something unusual.

She had logged in to the Harbinger servers to which she still had access, and checked for reports of unusual activity in Norway.

Sure enough, the tale Sabaton members had told Tommy checked out. A clean-up crew had been sent there after the avalanche, and remains of machinery had been dug up.

Though badly damaged, the swastikas on them were still recognizable. And according to the Harbinger scientists, the machines were occult in nature, dealing with the possibility of resurrection when placed in the right location such as the Telemark mountains.

It was unpleasant to think about. Faith almost hoped she had never read the reports. She would much rather just submerge herself to dissecting what her heart felt.

\---

It was an odd feeling for Tommy when he returned to his home studio after a few more Sabaton shows which closed the summer festival season. He thought he had a lot more energy, yet he couldn't deny basically thinking of Faith all the time, trying to conjure up some insane way how they could keep seeing each other after all.

Well, the very least he could do was to write a song about her. Disguised just enough to not reveal her identity or bring any more danger to her.

Should it be something uptempo, or a ballad that would tear at your heartstrings?

Both choices were valid. Uptempo for a song about her energetic and positive nature. Or the tearjerker for how Tommy felt.

ReinXeed did not have that many proper ballads, and Tommy wanted to see how well he could do this time, if he could channel his undisguised emotion, even if the subject was to be disguised. So the choice was practically made now.

The solo would also need to be something out of this world. Tommy recalled an interview by Yngwie Malmsteen where a Russian cab driver had mistaken his playing for an actual human crying. That was what he needed to shoot for.

But Tommy thought the song needed to start with a piano melody. So he powered on his keyboard controller, the workstation and the monitor speakers, and set out to work.

\---

One almost sleepless night later, the song had taken almost complete form. The working title was ”Leap of Faith.” The lyrics had ended up being basically about what he hoped would happen as the best possible outcome. If they would be able to take the leap despite their worlds being potentially incompatible.

It was very late night again, and Tommy listened to the song on his large studio sound system. The mix was not optimal, his voice was a rough take, and the solo had some bad notes, but it was definitely getting there.

It was good enough for now. It was time to get drunk while listening to it on repeat.

The studio was well enough insulated that no neighbours would ever complain, no matter at what hour he worked or what volume he listened at.

A couple of plays, and some amount of consumed whiskey later, and Tommy thought drunk-calling Joakim would be the best idea ever.

The call connected.

_”Tommy? Do you know what time it is?”_

”Uh... Yes. I wanted to ask you of a hypothetical situation. If there were… actual superheroes or superheroines roaming around, would you be fine with being placed at potential risk from me knowing one?”

_”I knew! I fucking knew. You are in love, aren't you?”_

”Joakim. Don't fuck around. I know it's late. Or early. But just answer the question and we're done.”

_”Uhm, I suppose… if there already are Nazi resurrections going on… and the guys from Immortal can be saved from an avalanche by a giant raven… Then the world is already fucked up. And I suppose, then it's actually better to know one.”_

”Thank you. No further questions.”

Tommy ended the call. That was actually a better response than he could have imagined.

He thought he was possibly getting a bit too ahead of himself. But if it was going to happen, there was some other preparation to be done. It would need consultation from his personal trainer. But that was not to be done drunk and at this ungodly hour.

\---

Faith had finished the blog post at last. She re-read it once more, to make sure she had not made any stupid mistake or revealed too much. It should apply to basically anyone and everyone, to perfectly mundane situations not involving gravity defying or Swedish metal guitarists at all.

She was sure it was OK enough.

She clicked ”publish” and it went live.

\---

The perfect solo yet eluded Tommy. There was a chord change on the background that he had written just a little too tricky. Of course he could change it to something easier… but that would be like cheating. He wanted something that was close to the whiplash of moods he had felt.

The perfect joy when Faith demonstrated her powers. And the sadness of knowing she could not stay, unless they took that drastic leap.

He was sure he would eventually nail it.

But now he needed a break. Tommy put the music workstation program on the background and pulled up the web browser.

He started searching for Faith's blog. For some reason Tommy had never asked for the actual address, though it would definitely have made sense.

He was sure he had found it. There actually was Faith in the title, and the background was a silhuette of a large curvy woman, just like her.

There was also a new post on it.

When you knew the story from first person perspective, it didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that Faith was talking about him.

Tommy could not stop crying when he read all of it.

And yet reading it made him determined, almost to the point of being angry. Now, while his tears hadn't yet dried, was the time to nail the perfect solo.

And then… once that was done, now that he knew the address, he could actually message Faith in private, if he just dared. He'd definitely send the preview version of the song.


	4. Chapter 4

The exchange of messages had been something surreal. But it had culminated in Tommy inviting her to a ReinXeed live show held at a bar and inn in Sweden.

Faith knew she had her head a bit in the clouds. If her enemies were to strike now, she certainly wouldn't be at her best. She knew she'd have to focus once she was actually out there.

And of course there was the matter of the song… Faith thought it was the best Tommy had written so far. It started very quiet with only the piano, then an acoustic guitar and Tommy's singing joined in, and it swelled until it was an epic and cinematic power ballad.

It definitely felt like Tommy was inviting her to take that leap of faith… and how could she refuse?

She knew at this point it would be a willful torment of her heart.

And, after the digging she had done, she thought staying away from Tommy could be even more dangerous to his health, or the rest of Sabaton. There were powerful forces in motion, and even they were doing their part with their music, whether they knew it or not.

\---

The flight had been in time, and now Faith was riding in a cab toward the town. The show would start 10 PM in the evening, and she wasn't going to be late.

Having the taxi driver be on the enemy side would be a classic tactic. But Faith checked that at least so far they weren't taking any extra suspicious detours.

She was likely being over-cautious, but it never hurt to be.

\---

Faith was glad she had brought earplugs. Though the bar wasn't exactly small, it rattled with sound, and ReinXeed were playing their fastest and loudest material. Faith rarely drunk beer, but now it felt appropriate.

Tommy was up there, giving it all with his guitar playing and singing. But Faith was not sure if he had seen her yet.

Another fast song turned into a power-chord and drum bashing cacophony ending.

Then it became almost eerily quiet, and the stage lights got a lot dimmer and atmospheric.

Tommy spoke into the microphone.

”The next song is a new one. And it's for… name withheld for reasons of security. But I think she's here.”

The keyboardist launched into the piano intro, and Faith had no idea how she was going to contain herself. She knew she had tears running down her cheeks and into the beer.

\---

What happened after that song was a bit of an incoherent blur, but when the whole show was over, Faith sat down at a table while Tommy unplugged and stowed away his gear. Then he came over, and they embraced for a long time. It felt so good that Faith could not describe it, the release of all that longing.

Faith had to concentrate to not use her force field now. Though she could well imagine them floating over the rest of the crowd right there and then.

Next there was still some conversing that needed to be done with long-time ReinXeed fans, so the both of them sat down, and Tommy also drank a beer, but finally they could retreat to his room on the second floor of the building.

Once they were safely inside, Tommy wanted to say something. He was looking a bit secretive.

”I'd want to do something… and I'd want you to not use your powers in any capacity. Can you promise that?”

”Promised,” Faith said. Though she didn't have the faintest idea of what Tommy had in mind.

”But you could… hold on to me to help just a bit.”

Now Faith probably knew, after all. Yes, of course she knew. She could only smile – almost laugh – when Tommy scooped her up in his arms and held her up with some visible effort.

”This is easy,” he said, but the tone of his voice really told otherwise.

And Faith thought he had already proved enough of whatever he wanted to prove, so she began to apply the force field little by little, until she at first became completely weightless, and then –

They both began to float in the middle of the room.

While they still held on to each other, Faith directed them to slowly circle around an imaginary axis.

”You like everything that's epic and cinematic?” Faith asked. She had listened to enough ReinXeed to know this was definitely the case.

”Of course,” Tommy answered.

”Well, this will be what I'd call... a live-action orbital kiss. You know what that is?”

”That's usually the one... at the end of a film?”

While they still spun around, slowly enough to not cause motion sickness, Faith moved slowly closer until their lips met, and then the live-action orbital kiss began. Faith could tell Tommy was rather completely spellbound. And she was too, of course. She was so very glad they had taken the leap of faith, no matter where it would lead.

But Faith still had something else in mind. It was a bit of a stunt, since it required also coordinating an extra inanimate object, but it should succeed, even while slightly drunk.

”And now… Let's do one more thing. Please hold on,” Faith whispered to Tommy.

He probably had no idea what was going to happen. Or maybe he did, judging from his music. Faith directed a push of the force field to open the room's windows, and then –

They flew right through to the outside, to the cool autumn starlit sky.

”Wow...” Tommy breathed.


End file.
